Hingis Will Not Compete in Olympics

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) â€” Martina Hingis, the top-ranked female tennis player in the world, said she will not participate in the Sydney Olympics. <br><br>``I would like to represent Switzerland in the

Wednesday, July 26th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) â€” Martina Hingis, the top-ranked female tennis player in the world, said she will not participate in the Sydney Olympics.

``I would like to represent Switzerland in the Olympics, but the workload is too great,'' the 19-year-old told Swiss television late Tuesday.

In contrast to the men's Olympic event, there are no world ranking points to be gained for women at the Sydney Games, and Hingis is concerned about playing in too many hard-court tournaments.

``Martina's health is the most important thing,'' said her manager, Mario Widmer.

``She has a little problem with her heels ... and she's playing in San Diego, Los Angeles, Montreal, and at the U.S. Open. That makes about five weeks on hard courts. To play on the hard courts at Sydney as well would be risky.''

Hingis was eliminated in the second round of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics at age 15.